Neck supporting bracket for jug labeling machine

ABSTRACT

A neck supporting bracket for a machine for applying a label to a jug having with a handle thereon while the jug is rotated while on its side around a horizontal axis. The machine has a pair of parallel horizontal rollers, driving means coupled to the rollers for driving the rollers, label feed means for feeding labels one at a time to the space between the rollers, and glue applying means between the rollers, and glue applying means between the label feed means and the rollers for intermittently applyin glue to labels fed thereby. A starting switch is provided adjacent the rollers having an actuating arm which is engaged and actuated when a jug is placed on its side on the rollers. The starting switch is connected to the driving means for starting the driving means when the starting switch actuating arm is engaged. A label feed switch is provided which has an actuating arm extending upwardly to a position in the path of the jug handle as the jug is rotated. A label position timer is connected between the label feed switch and the label feed means for controlling the feed of labels when the label feed switch is actuated, and a glue timer is connected between the label feed switch and the glue applying means for controlling the application of glue to the fed labels. The neck supporting bracket is vertically mounted on the machine adjacent the position of the neck of the jug when the jug is in position on the rollers, and has bearing means on the upper end lying along the periphery of the neck of the jug when the jug is in position on the rollers.

. y 25, 1972 D. v. KNIGHT NECK SUPPORTlNG BRACKET FOR JUG LABELINGMACHINE Filed Dec 4, 1970 INVENTOR DONALD V. KNIGHT FIG.2

' BY @a/WZZQ ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,679,523 NECK SUPPORTINGBRACKET FOR JUG LABELING MACHINE Donald V. Knight, Thomasville, Ala.,assignor to Ciba- Geigy Corporation, Greenburgh, N.Y. Filed Dec. 4,1970, Ser. No. 95,118 Int. Cl. B65c 3/12 US. Cl. 156447 2 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A neck supporting bracket for a machine forapplying a label to a jug having a neck with a handle thereon while thejug is rotated while on its side around a horizontal axis. The machinehas a pair of parallel horizontal rollers, driving means coupled to therollers for driving the rollers, label feed means for feeding labels oneat a time to the space between the rollers, and glue applying meansbetween the label feed means and the rollers for intermittently applyingglue to labels fed thereby. A starting switch is provided adjacent therollers having an actuating arm which is engaged and actuated when a jugis placed on its side on the rollers. The starting switch is connectedto the driving means for starting the driving means when the startingswitch actuating arm is engaged. A label feed switch is provided whichhas an actuating arm extending upwardly to a position in the path of thejug handle as the jug is rotated. A label position timer is connectedbetween the label feed switch and the label feed means for controllingthe feed of labels when the label feed switch is actuated, and a gluetimer is connected between the label feed switch and the glue ap plyingmeans for controlling the application of glue to the fed labels. Theneck supporting bracket is vertically mounted on the machine adjacentthe position of the neck of the jug when the jug is in position on therollers, and has bearing means on the upper end lying along theperiphery of the neck of the jug when the jug is in position on therollers.

The invention relates to a support for the neck of a plastic jug towhich a label is being applied while the jug is being rotated about ahorizontal axis.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART It has been found desirable incertain product packing operations to fill a liquid product, such as aherbicide, into a plastic jug with a handle attached to the neck andupper part of the jug, and only thereafter apply a label to the filledjug. This avoids spillage on and discoloration and damage to the labelduring filling. Moreover, because of certain considerations which arenot relevant to the present discussion, it is desirable to apply thelabels to a certain part of the jugs relative to the handle while theyare in a horizontal position. Moreover, in order to make it possible toprint instructions on the back of the label and have these available tobe read by the purchaser of the product, it is desirable to glue thelabels to the jugs by glue only at the opposite side or end edgesthereof.

Patented July 25, 1972 "ice This makes it possible to tear the labelfrom the jug and read the printed material on the back of the label.

A machine has been developed which will carry out such a labelingoperation. It has parallel horizontal rollers 5 which are rotated torotate a jug which is placed thereon.

During the rotation a label to which glue has been applied at theopposite side edges is fed against the surface of the jug and is adheredthereto. The jugs are manually placed one at a time on the horizontalrollers, and after the label has been applied, the labeled jug ismanually removed. Placing of the jug on the machine actuates a startingswitch which starts the rollers rotating. A further switch is providedwhich is actuated by the handle of the jug during'rotation in order toactuate means starting a sequence of timing operations which eventuallycause a label to be fed and glue to be applied to the label.

Because the actuating of the further switch depends on this switch beingengaged by the handle of the jug, the relative position of the jug withthe handle thereon and the switch is a critical factor in the correctoperation of the machine. Moreover, the machine has been found to workwell only with jugs which have a substantially cylindricalcross-section.

However, because many products which are sold in such jugs are highlycorrosive, it has been found desirable to sell them in plastic jugs,such as polyethylene jugs. These jugs have relatively thin walls, and ithas been found that especially in warm weather when they are filled withliquid and placed on their sides in the machine described above, theytend to distort due to the weight of the liquid. This causes improperoperation of the machine for several reasons. Firstly, the jugs fail torotate properly on the horizontal rollers, and in some cases simply bumpup and down on the rollers. Moreover, the positions of the neck andhandle are changed so that the neck contacts the further switch at alltimes, so that the label feeding and glue applying sequence does notoccur properly.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the presentinvention to improve a machine for applying labels to jugs by placingthereon a bracket which will support the neck of the jug so as to helpthe jug maintain its shape.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedmachine with a simple attachment which will support the neck of the jugso as to properly position the neck and handle relative to the switchingmeans for controlling the label feed and glue applying operations of themachine.

These objects are achieved by the provision of a bracket mounted on themachine at the end where the neck of the jug is located during thelabeling operation, which bracket has two rollers thereon adapted to bepositioned beneath and against the periphery of the neck of the jug tosupport the neck of the jug in the proper position relative to theswitching means actuated by the handle of the jug. The provision of sucha bracket causes the jugs to be supported on the machine in such a waythat they not only rotate properly, but the jug handle strikes theswitching means properly and only at the proper time during rotation ofthe jug.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Before describing the bracket whichis the improvement in the machine as discussed above, a description willbe given of the machine itself. The machine is a conventional labelapplying machine, one specific machine being the machine sold byLabelette Co., Chicago, 111., under the name Labelette. As shownsomewhat schematically in FIG.

1, the machine has a frame with a table-like top 11, and two horizontalrollers 12 are mounted on the frame 10 parallel to each other so as toproject upwardly slightly above the top 11. The rollers 12 are spacedsufiiciently so that when a jug I to which a label is to be applied isplaced with its axis in a horizontal position on the rollers 12, theperiphery of the jug will extend slightly downwardly into the spacebetween the rollers 12. A starting switch 13 has a wire-like actuatingarm 14 projecting upwardly into space between the rollers 12 a distancesuch that when a jug is placed on the rollers the actuating arm 14 ismoved so as to actuate the switch 13. The starting switch 13 isconnected to a motor ,15 to start the motor when the switch is actuated.The motor 15 is coupled to the rollers 12 by means (not shown) to drivethe rollers 12 in the direction of the'arrows to rotate the jug I aboutits horizontal axis in the direction of arrow 1'.

- Inclined upwardly from one end of the frame 10 is alabel storage andfeed table 16supported by a bracket j 17. A label feed roller 18 ismounted beneath the table 16 and projects through the table against theunder side of a stack of labels L for feeding them one at a time under aguideroller 19 mounted above the table 16 toward and under a guideroller 20 at the lower end of the table 16.

' The label is then guided by a guide 23 over the surface of a glueapplying roller 21 which is driven by motor 16 in the direction of thearrow to pick up glue from a reservoir22 and which carries the glue tothe label movf ing along the guide 23. The guide 23 is movable up anddown with respect to the glue applying roller 21 by means (not shown),and in the raised position, the label is not contacted by the glueapplying roller, while in the lowered position the label is contacted bythe glue applying roller to have glue applied to the under side thereof.Label guides 24, which are a series of vertical plates having theshapeas shown and which are spaced at intervals along the rollers 12receive the label with the glue applied thereto and guide it around theright-hand roller 12 and guide the side of the label having the glueapplied thereto against the surface of the jug being rotated on therollers 12.

-In order to start the feed of the labels at the proper time so thatthey are applied at the right location on the jug, there is provided alabel feed switch 25 which has a relatively long actuating arm 26 whichextends upwardly in the vicinity of the location of the neck N of thejug when it is in place on the rollers 12. The actuating arm 26 extendsalmost to the position of the neck and the end thereof is in the path ofthe handle H of the jug as it is rotated on the rollers 12. The labelfeed switch is connected to two timers, a label position timer 27 and aglue timer 28. The label position timer 27 is connected to drive means(not shown) for the label feed roller 18, and when actuated causes thelabel feed roller 18 to feed a label; The glue timer is in turnconnected to the means for raising and lowering the guide 23. Whenactuated, it raises the guide 23 after a certain length of time, andthen after a further length of time lowers it again.

In operation, a jug J is placed onthe rollers 12, actuating theactuating arm 14 of. the switch 13, thereby dl'iV-r ing the motor torotate the rollers 12 and the glue apply- 7 ing roller 21. This rotatesthe jug I until the handle H' strikes the actuating arm 26 of the switch25, which in turn actuates the timers 27 and 28. The label .positiontimer causes the feed of a label, and when the front edge of the labelreaches the guide 23, it has glue applied thereto by the rotating glueapplying roller 21. At that time the glue timer actuates the means forraising and lowering the guide 23 to raise the guide 23. The furtherfeed of the label across the guide 23 does not cause the application ofglue to the label. After an appropriate length of time sufficient forthe rear edge of the label to reach the guide 23, the timer 28 actuatesthe means for raising and lowering the guide 23 to lower it, whereuponthe roller 21 applies glue to therear edge of the label. The label isthen fed around the right-hand roller 12 along the guides 24 and fedagainst the surface of the jug with the glue containing face against thesurface of the jug. Further. rotation of the jug I causes the label tobe rolled between the jug and the right-hand roller 12. t

As pointed out above, when the jug is distorted due to the weight ofliquid contained therein, the distorted shape will not be rotated by therollers 12, and moreover the neck will be shifted so that it contactsthe actuating arm 26 of the switch 25 at all times. This causes constantac tuation of the timers 27 and 28 with consequent improper operation ofthe label feed and glue applying steps.

According to the present invention, and as more clearly shown in FIG. 2,'a bracket is added to the machine which supports the neck N of the jugI when it is in position on the rollers 12. The bracket has a bodymember 30 which is secured by bolts 31 or the like in an uprightposition to the frame 10 of the machine. On the upper end of the bracketis a bearing means, which in this embodiment, is a pair of side by sideneck supporting rollers 32 rotatably mounted on the body member 30 forrotation around axes parallel to the axes of rotation of the rollers 12.The peripheries of the neck supporting rollers 32 are tangent to the.peripheral surface of the neck N of the jug when the ing is in theproper position on the rollers 12. Other appropriate bearing means canbe substituted for said rollers.

In operation, when the jug is placed on the machine the neck supportingrollers 32 support theneck N of the jug and carry a portion of theweightof the liquid in the jug. As a result, the jug is not distorted,and the position of the neck N relative to the actuating arm 26 is kept'proper at all times. Therefore, not only is the jug rotated properly onthe rollers 12, but also the neck N of the jug I is kept above the levelof the actuating arm 26 so that the actuating arm 26 is struck only bythe handle H. Thus all of the operations of the machine can be performedproperly.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for applying a label to a jug having a neck with ahandle thereon while the jug is rotated'while on its side around ahorizontal axis, the machine having a pair of parallel horizontalrollers, driving means coustarting switch actuating arm is engaged, alabel feed.

switch having an actuating arm extending upwardly to a position in thepath of the jug handle as the jug is rotated, a label position timerconnected between the label feed switch and the label feed means forcontrolling the feed of labels when the label feed switch is actuated,and

a glue timer connected between said glue applying means for controllingthe application of glue to the fed labels, that improvement comprising asupport means for the neck of the jug, comprising a bracket verticallymounted on said machine adjacent the position of the neck of the jugwhen the jug is in position on said rollers, and bearmg means on theupper end of said bracket lying along the periphery of the neck of thejug when the jug is in position on the rollers.

2. The improvement as claimed in claim 1 in which said bearing means area pair of side by side neck supporting rollers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 RALPH S. KENDALL, PrimaryExaminer US. Cl. X.R.

